Crab Cakes on Salad Greens with a Lime Vinaigrette

Every once in awhile, a girl craves a nice juicy crab cake. You know, the type you can get in the Baltimore Inner Harbor restaurants, with the big chunks of juicy crab meat? And hardly enough binder to hold it together, therefore it's like noshing on a big fat crab without the fuss of shelling it?

Yeah, I know: dream on. I live in the Midwest. No seafood for hundreds of miles, besides the crab cakes are more like breaded hockey pucks around here. However, recently I came across a crab cake recipe that actually caught my attention. While I knew I wouldn't be able to make an authentic Baltimore crab cake, this one was interesting in that (1) it's healthy and (2) it has all sorts of yummies like corn and onion and herbs rather than just breadcrumbs for binder. Had to give it a try. Perfect with a simple green salad, I thought.

The crab cake recipe is from Cooking Light. The lime vinaigrette, I am proud to say, I made on my own from what was in the fridge (specifically, some chutney and limes I wanted to use up). And it's very very good, in fact one I've used for several salad recipes since I came up with the thing.

Anyhoo, back to the crab cakes: The mint was a surprise but really good in this recipe, and the curry was very mild (for those afraid of the stuff). I ended up using less breadcrumbs than recommended, and it made for a very moist crab cake. Good stuff! It came together surprisingly quick, too, so this is a good one for a healthy and quick dinner option. And it's sure took care of those crab cake cravings!

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

5 tsp. canola oil, divided

1 c. corn kernels (about 2 ears)

1/4 c. finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. lump crabmeat, shells removed ***

1/3 c. reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 large egg whites

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1 c. plain dry breadcrumbs, divided

Lime wedges

Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn, onion, curry powder and garlic; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and let cool completely. Stir in crabmeat.

Whisk mayonnaise, egg whites, lime juice, cilantro, mint and salt in a small bowl. Fold into the crab mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Using about 1/3 cup per patty, form the mixture into eight 3/4-inch-thick patties. Dredge the patties in the remaining breadcrumbs.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 crab cakes and cook until the undersides are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a wide spatula, turn cakes over onto the prepared baking sheet. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet and repeat with the remaining 4 crab cakes.

Bake the crab cakes until golden on the second side and heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Salad Greens with Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/3 c. fresh lime juice

Hot sauce, to taste

1 Tbsp. mango chutney

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. canola oil

Salad greens of choice (about 12 oz.)

Whisk together lime juice, a few dashes of hot sauce, chutney, and sugar in a bowl. Slowly add canola oil while whisking, until emulsified. Add greens to bowl and toss well.

To plate: place greens on a plate. Top with a crab cake or two, and a lime wedge for that extra citrus punch. Enjoy!

*** I used pasteurized crab meat from the grocery store (in a tub-type of dish), but I think that if you are lucky enough to find fresh, you should totally use it! And beware the canned crab - fell for that joke once, and once is enough. It's like eating straw. Ew.

Lavender Fairy Cupcakes

These cute little lavender cupcakes were created with the help of a few of my new kitchen goodies. The recipe is from Cakes and Bakes, a cookbook Christmas gift from my friend Nicole. There are a bunch of yummy-looking recipes in that book :) I thought this would be a good recipe to use to break in my new mini-muffin tin and cupcake liners. And the lavender, the main reason I pulled this recipe out: it's from a lovely little European store downtown, I couldn't help but buy it when I saw it on their shelves (a local product to boot, so I know it's fresh!).

The cupcakes were really good - a nice subtle lavender essence that went well with the sugary honey. The gooey frosting was a nice complement to the cakes. A good one to try if you want a new-ish type recipe and happen upon some edible lavender!

Lavender Fairy Cakes

Ingredients:
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. finely chopped lavender flowers
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. self-rising flour, sifted
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
Silver dragees and lavender flowers, for decorating

Preheat your oven to 375 F. PLace 12 paper cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Place the sugar, honey, and butter in a bowl and cream together until fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Stir in the milk, lavender, and vanilla extract. Carefully fold in the flour.

Divide the mixture between the cupcake liners and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until well risen and golden. The sponge should bounce back when pressed. A few minutes before the cakes are ready, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and stir in enough water or milk to make a very thick frosting.

When the cakes are baked, transfer to a wire rack and place a blob of frosting in the center of each one, allowing it to run across the cake. Decorate with lavender flowers and silver dragees. Serve cakes as soon as they are cool.

Blood Orange Tart

I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Food and Wine (January 2008), and I knew I had to try it. I love the look of rustic tarts, and this one was so simple (just fruit, crust, sugar, and butter). I adore blood oranges too, much more tart and yet so sweet, with a gorgeous ruby-ish red color.

And it turned out just lovely - I ended up pulling mine from the oven a bit early, as it was starting to blacken at the edges. Charred edges withstanding - this recipe makes a very flaky, buttery crust; one of the best I've made, to be honest. The oranges are sweet and tart and juicy from the long bake in the oven. Yum! I pulled this tart together last night and planned on making it for dessert tonight, but I couldn't hold out and instead we had tart for breakfast :)

Blood Orange Tart

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick plus 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/2-in. pieces and chilled
3 Tbsp. ice water
8 to 10 blood oranges

1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 Tbsp. of water

In a food processor, pulse the 1 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the baking powder and salt. Add the stick of cold butter and pulse several times, just until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle the dough with the ice water and pulse just until moistened crumbs form. Turn the crumbs out onto a work surface, knead once or twice and pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper–lined flat cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until chilled.

Meanwhile, peel the blood oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith. Thinly slice 2 of the oranges crosswise; remove the pits. Transfer the orange slices to a plate. Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut in between the membranes of the remaining oranges, releasing the sections into the sieve. Remove the pits and gently shake out as much juice as possible without mashing the sections; you will need 1 cup of sections. Reserve the orange juice for another use.

Arrange the orange sections on the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the oranges. Using a paring knife, thinly slice the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the oranges. Fold up the pastry over the oranges, leaving most of the oranges uncovered. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Arrange the orange slices on top, leaving a 1-inch border of pastry all around. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar on top. Freeze the tart until solid, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375° and position a rack in the center. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake the tart directly from the freezer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is deeply browned. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the tart cool for 30 minutes. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the rack and let the tart cool completely. Serve with the Salted Caramel Sauce.

MAKE AHEAD: The unbaked tart can be tightly wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Trucioli with Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Yum! I bet your mouth waters just from the title, right? My darling sister Coco sent this one to me via email to give a whirl one of these evenings. It's no secret that Hubs and I are big pasta lovers, and this dish didn't disappoint. Creamy sauce with a nice depth of flavor from the blue cheese, plus crisp salty prosciutto, and just enough onion and garlic for a hint of flavor in the sauce. We had it with Wheatfields bread and a nice light Beaujolais. A perfect, simple-yet-polished meal!

My sister suggested parsley for some color, and I must admit - without it, the dish is rather bland-looking. I used Italian parsley because that's what I had on hand, however feel free to use regular old parsley. The Italian is a wee bit stronger, and overpowered the flavors in the dish a teeny bit.

Thank you Coco-Rico, for the lovely recipe! Will get lots of use out of this one this winter.

Trucioli with Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

12 oz. trucioli or other shaped rotini pasta

4 oz. prosciutto or amount to taste (can also use premium bacon)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese (my sister used Humboldt Fog, I used a nice gorgonzola)

1 c. half and half

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

Cut prosciutto into ½ inch slices, set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add garlic, onion, and prosciutto and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the creamer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in blue cheese an simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Boil pasta according to directions. Drain well and combine with sauce. Toss with parmesan cheese and black pepper and serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread and your fave red wine.

**Ah, yes: and please say hello to my new darling camera. This was its first photo shoot for the blog :)

Latin Tomato and Mushroom Soup

My, but how I love the winter: if for no other reason, it means lots of soups for dinner, at least at our house. This soup is quite brothy, a wee bit spicy, and can tame a mean Mexican Food craving. The pepper/corn/beans/cilantro are a great combination in any dish, and really does the trick here.

Found this recipe at We [heart] Food when trolling the Internet one day (by way of the ever helpful Tastespotting site). This recipe was originally supposed to contain "huitlacoche", which I decided I was better off without after researching it online (for the record: it is a Mexican corn fungus). Give this one a whirl, you won't be disappointed. And if you can find and use huitlacoche, leave a comment on the old blog here and tell me what it's like!

Latin Tomato and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

6 c. chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 c. shredded chicken

1 c. corn kernels

1/2 c. tomato puree

4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

1 large anaheim pepper

1 small poblano pepper

2 large portobello caps

1/4 c. chopped cremini mushrooms

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp. lime juice

tortilla strips * (optional)

Combine the stock, chicken, corn, tomato puree, whites of green onion, peppers, and black beans in a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and sautee the mushrooms in the olive oil until they give up their juices. Set aside.

Stir in the mushrooms, cilantro, lime juice, and green onions, and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot, sprinkling each bowl with tortilla strips (optional).

* To make tortilla strips, cut 2-3 corn tortillas into thin strips, spray with cooking spray and bake in a 400F oven for 10 minutes or until crisp.

Back in a few, promise.

Things are quite hectic, and I haven't a square to spare right now. Not to mention: between holidays with my fam and then the in-laws, we are totally loaded down with food and treats and other such sundries to get us through the next couple of days to week (at the very least).

So, anyhoo, will be back no later than Wednesday, promise. I have grand plans for recipes - crab cakes, creamy pasta dishes, and lavender cupcakes amongst other goodies. Until my return: trusty sous chef Mahni would like to demonstrate the proper way to stylishly air-bubble-preschooly jump.

Orange Shortbread Cookies

When my family first moved to Kansas, it was a bit of culture shock. The landscape was different, the weather was crazy. The regional fare was foreign to me. The accent was oh-so twangy and hard for this Northerner to understand. Worst of all, no Packers fans. Instead, I noticed a very curious obsession: college sports. And these people rooted for a team called the KU Jayhawks. Um. Okay? What in the hell is a Jayhawk? Why is everyone crazy for this college team, when the university itself is over 200 miles from here??

And yet I found streets, stores, foodstuffs, you name it - all named in honor of this Jayhawk thing. And don't even get me started on the mad-dog love for KU sports. Within a year of living in Kansas, I was so sick of the Jayhawk that I vowed never ever to be a fan.

Fast-forward a few years, and guess where I found myself attending college. Yeah. KU. However, I still planned to hold steadfastly to my vow. I turned my nose up at anything Jayhawk related. And yet, ever so slowly, the gorgeous campus and quirky town and yes, even that goofy bird wiggled its way into my cold heart. After a year, I too owned countless Jaywalk t-shirts and tchotchkes. I bought my snacks at Jayhawk FoodMart. I filled my prescriptions at Jayhawk Pharmacy. And on game days I screamed for the home team at the top of my lungs, from my favorite college pub, right in the thick of the Jayhawk-lovin' masses. The old Nemmie would be horrified (but, man, she doesn't know what she's missing).

Ever a basketball-lovin' university, imagine everyone's surprise this year when our football team (forever a joke) was actually a contender. We got invited to our first ever bowl game in over 30 years, the Orange bowl. And no one expected us to win.


But we did :)

So, in honor of my home team and their Orange Bowl win: Orange Shortbread cookies, in a somewhat Jayhawk-ish shape (hey, I do the best I can). Got the original recipe here and fiddled with it a bit, to get what you see below. That crumbly, buttery shortbread flavor with a surprisingly bright, tart-orange flavor. Thank goodness for the winter, and its abundance of blood oranges. They were perfect in these cookies.



Before I sign off for the evening: Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Go KU!



Orange Shortbread Cookies





Ingredients:


1 c. (2 sticks) butter, unsalted, room temperature
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. orange juice (juice from the zested orange)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (optional for decorating)



Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, orange juice, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms.


Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. Preheat your oven to 325 F.



Roll out on a floured surface, to about 1/4-in. thickness. Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.


Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.



When cooled, drizzle with chocolate if desired.

Blackberry Jam Cake

This year for Christmas, I received a brand-new bundt pan from a dear old friend of mine. I also received gift basket full of fancy Maine jams/jellies from an editor. I'm not a big jam/jelly type of person, so I knew it would take me literally years to go through what was sent. So of course, the first thing I thought of was to find a recipe or two to use up these jams! I remembered Peabody's lovely Purple Haze jam cake post from a few months back, and thought it would be a good place to start. There was a nice big jar of blackberry-peach preserves sitting in that gift basket…

I took Peabody's recipe, but exchanged the granulated sugar for dark brown sugar. I also halved it, since (1) I had my fancy new (6-inch) bundt pan and (2) there's no way Hubs and I are eating a whole big bundt cake by ourselves. So make note, the recipe below won't fill a regular (10-inch) bundt pan.

I rather like this with the brown sugar, it gives the cake a deep flavor and almost crispy-sugar taste. I love how the spices brought out a warm, wintery flavor in the preserves. And of course, that icing is easy on the eyes :) Next time I'll be sure to heed Peabody's advice, and strain the preserves before adding it to the cake. The crunchiness from the blackberry seeds was an unexpected surprise!

Blackberry Jam Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 c. cake flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. fresh nutmeg

1/4 c. sour cream

1 c. blackberry preserves

Preheat oven to 300 F. Butter and flour a 6- or 7-inch bundt pan.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and scrape down the bowl after each egg. Add the vanilla a beat for another 30 seconds.

Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beating after each addition. Fold in the blackberry preserves.

Pour into bundt pan. Bake at 300 F for 10 minutes. Increase heat to 350 F, and bake until done (20-30 minutes). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

If you want to make the glaze: simply heat up some jam. Remove the jam from the heat when it has melted and whisk in powdered sugar until you reach a consistency you are happy with.

Dessert Sushi

Happy New Years Eve! I'm off in a minute to attend a nice little shindig, but first wanted to share with you my very quick, easy, yet terribly adorable dessert for the evening: dessert sushi. Made the rest of the evening cooking much, much easier to handle. A big thanks to Lolo for the great idea!

Okay, I'm leaving for real. Have a very safe, lovely New Years, everyone! See you in January :)

Dessert Sushi

Ingredients:

Swedish Fish

Fruit Roll-Ups

Rice Krispie Treats

Cut the Rice Krispie treats to shape, either as a "finger of rice" or to wrap around the fish. Wrap around fish, or place fish on top of rice treat. Then cut fruit roll-up to fit, and wrap around sushi pieces. Voila!

African Peanut Soup

Thank goodness I made several soups in the past few weeks - I have been sick as can be. As in, I think I now know how a crackhead feels. I'm hot, I'm freezing, I'm hot again. My skin hurts and I'm sweating buckets. My eyes burn. My throat hurts so bad I can hardly swallow. Charming, isn't it? Hopefully I'm feeling fresh as daisies tomorrow, because I'm in charge of hors d'oeuvres at the New Years Eve Cocktail Party we're attending tomorrow evening. I even have a rockin' new BCBG cocktail dress and killer stilletos to try out for the occasion. Stupid cold.

And yes, I'm officially pouting through my sweaty hazy fever now.

Anyhoo. Back to soup. I found this recipe at epicurious.com. Once upon a time, I ordered an African peanut soup at Free State Brewing Company. It was soooo good: creamy, slight hint of coconut, and then hot hot hot. I gobbled it up. So when I saw this recipe at epicurious, I was hooked. It turned out quite well: not exactly as spicy as I had at Free State, but pretty good nonetheless. I also sprinkled chopped cilantro on top of the served soup; not sure if anyone would consider that authentic but it sounded good to me. This soup is not as peanut-buttery as I thought it would be, it was really a behind-the-scenes flavor (so if you are worried about this being terribly rich or thick, no worries). Quite good, I think it could really be good for several changes as you see fit - add different veggies, a few new spices, maybe sweet potatoes, etc. Good stuff! I will definitely try it again.


Okay, I'm ready to chug a glass of OJ and then back to my (do I want it warm? Or chilled?) bed right now. Have a lovely evening all! Will check back soon :)


African Peanut Soup




Ingredients:
1 lb. skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4- to- 1-in. cubes
1 Tbsp. hot sauce
3 c. low-salt chicken broth
1 c. coconut milk
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
5 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
2 medium zucchini, diced (we used patty-pan squash instead)
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 c. drained canned diced tomatoes in juice

Combine chicken cubes and hot sauce in medium bowl and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. Whisk chicken broth, coconut milk, peanut butter, and tomato paste in another medium bowl to blend.

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and zucchini; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink on outside, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.Add broth mixture and tomatoes to pot.

Simmer until chicken is cooked through and flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Wild Rice Soup

Every time we head home to Wisconsin for a visit, my family makes sure to stop by the Menominee reservation, to get a big bag of the Indian wild rice cultivated there (the name Menominee actually translates to "Wild Rice People"). Wild rice is a popular product in the Great North, found in Wisconsin and Minnesota and parts of Canada. It is very good for you: high in protein, lysine, and fiber, and contains several vitamins. Click here to learn more about this awesome stuff.

Wild rice tastes nutty with a slightly chewy texture, and is a great substitute for white or brown rice in recipes. I love wild rice personally, so it should be no surprise that this soup is one of my favorites. Creamy and rich, full of veggies and wild rice and chicken. Yum. So warming on a cold winter evening. I originally got this recipe out of Midwest Living, a very old copy. So old, in fact, that I can't find the recipe online anywhere. At any rate, enjoy this one. It's a regular at our house year-round.

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 c. uncooked wild rice, rinsed

3 (14-oz.) cans chicken broth

1 c. chopped carrot

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopping onion

2 c. mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 c. flour

Salt and pepper

1 c. whipping cream

2 c. cooked diced chicken

In a dutch oven, combine rice, 2 cans of broth, carrot, celery, and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer (covered) for 35-40 minutes. Add mushrooms during the last 5 minutes of simmering.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, and some salt and pepper to taste. Add remaining can of broth, and cook until bubbly. Cook and stir for one more minute, then stir in cream.

Add cream mixture to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and heat through. Serve with a nice slice of crusty bread.

Merry Christmas!

Sous Chef Mahni: A Pictoral Food-log of the Holiday

Gratiutious cookie decorating shots.

Testing the cookie frosting.



Enjoying Nemmie's Christmas Eve soup (okay, okay, to be honest: Nemmie brought the recipe, Hubs made the soup).

Decorating a gingerbread house.

Showing off the finished product.




First Chore of Christmas morning: makin' cheese balls with Nemmie, for the afternoon cheese trays.



Enjoying the fruits of our labor later (who knew the kid had a thing for feta).




Is that Santa I hear?? Gotta go!

A very Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope it was as fun and food-filled as ours!